First, Steve Trachsel was awful. Then, he got hurt.

Now it's up to Oliver Perez _ yes, Oliver Perez _ to keep the New York Mets in the NL championship series.

Trachsel lasted just three outs and 43 mostly mediocre pitches in the Mets' 5-0 loss Saturday night, which gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven-series.

Pitching for the Mets for perhaps the final time, he gave up five hits and five walks, was charged with five runs and came out with a bruised right thigh one batter after Preston Wilson's comebacker, which was hit so hard that the ball ricocheted into short left field.

His bruise might as well be a symbol for the New York pitching staff.

With injuries to Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez, the Mets have just one dependable starter _ Tom Glavine, who has pitched 13 shutout innings in a pair of starts. But clearly, one is not enough.

John Maine and Trachsel have given up 11 earned runs in 12 2-3 innings, a 7.82 ERA.

And next up in Game 4 Sunday night is Perez, who went 3-13 for Pittsburgh and the Mets, who acquired him on July 31 with Roberto Hernandez in the Xavier Nady deal. Perez, who hasn't pitched since Oct. 1, will be only the second pitcher in baseball history to make a post-season start after going 10 games under .500 during the regular season _ the first since Arizona's Albie Lopez in 2001.

The way things are going, the best chance the Mets have to is make Glavine their everyday pitcher, emulating Charles ``Old Hoss'' Radbourn, who made 73 starts for the National League's Providence Grays in 1884. Depending on the record book, ``Old Hoss'' had 59 or 60 wins to go along with 12 losses, 73 complete games and 678 2-3 innings. He never topped 28 wins after that.

As it is, Glavine is scheduled to pitch on three days' rest in Game 5 on Sunday night. His last start on short rest was June 7 at Los Angeles, when he allowed seven hits _ three of them homers _ and six runs over 5 1-3 innings in a 9-7 win.

While he's 8-6 with 3.53 ERA in 25 regular-season starts on short rest, the 40-year-old left-hander is 2-5 with a 6.75 ERA in post-season starts without full rest.